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Rank the East

So now that free agency, for the most part, is done for now, what is everyone's view on where the East is as of now? My rankings go like this:

1. Indiana- Yes we lost Stephenson, but we have always been a TEAM not a 2 man superstar led team, we can survive losing Lance and succeed. George Hill will have a big year, David West is still a BAMF, we can still get all-star Hibbert back, I think we will be fine without Lance. We replaced Lance with CJ Miles, who I am a big fan of and his shooting will do wonders for us, and Rodney Stuckey, who is a capable scorer off our bench who can play when Miles shot isn't falling. The most important part is, we have Paul George as well.

2. Chicago- Well they get Derrick Rose back, what level will he play at? No one knows, but if they can get all-star caliber play from him, which I believe they will, they will be a very, very good team. Their front court is also great with Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, and Nikola Mirotic. Jimmy Butler is a solid player as well, but they have a whole on the wing that needs to be filled by Dunleavy/McDermmot/Snell and I am not a big fan of any of them.

3. Cleveland- Well they have LeBron, but I am not in love with his supporting cast to tell you the honest truth. They have Kyrie Irving yes, but he has never been on a winning team, let alone even sniffed the playoffs. Andrew Wiggins COULD be good, but the guy is a rookie. Dion Waiters is just awful for that team from a chemistry perspective, and posted on twitter he wouldn't accept a bench role. Thompson is solid, but once again no playoff experience, I just don't know if the supporting cast is experienced enough.

4. Washington- I actually don't think Washington will be as good this year, I think the loss of Ariza will hurt them, and I don't think Pierce has much left in the tank. However, Beal is a stud, and walking away from that Washington series last year, he was by far their most impressive player to me, and he has a bright future. John Wall is also a very good player... But I don't know if he is good enough to lead a team, and Hill locking him down gives me doubts.

5. Toronto- They got Kyle Lowry back which is huge for that team. Lowry is an all-star caliber player, and adding him back to a young core of Jonas, DeRozan, and Ross will mean more years of solid basketball up in Toronto. However, they didn't add any new players, so I think its another year of one and done for Toronto again, but they have a bright future.

6. Charlotte- Well they added Lance to an already solid core. Al Jefferson is the top center in the East, and Kemba Walker is a very solid point guard, and add Stephenson to that mix and you have a solid team. Floor spacing is definitely a key issue with the Hornets, as Walker/Stephenson/Gilchrest is awful from a floor spacing perspective, but they will be decent.

7. Miami- They kept Bosh and Wade, and added Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts.. Thats a solid top 3 right there and McRoberts is a good role player... But outside of that they suck tbh.

8. Atlanta- Well they added a solid defender in Thabo and they will get the return of Horford next season, so they will certainly be dangerous when you factor in Millsap and Teague are already there. And I can't forget the Pacer killer Korver either.

Re: Rank the East

1) Cleveland -- Yeah Lebron makes that much of a difference in record, especially since Irving and the others will actually play instead of Wade...I predict they go higher than the 55 the Heat won last year.
2) Washington -- Like the addition of Pierce and more growing up will make them better.
3) Indiana -- Still a very good team with a chance to go back to the ECF
4) Toronto -- The default Atlantic division winner, probably will not beat or have home court against the 3rd place Central team
5) Chicago -- Still can't trust Rose until I see a full season from him, but could be higher if he's healthy and his MVP self
6) Miami -- I think being way overlooked, Bosh is going to be a beast this year, Deng will be a good addition, and Wade will probably be better and more used in regular season
7) Charlotte -- Interesting team, could work out really well for them, or could be a total disaster, not sure where exactly
8) Brooklyn -- Another team people are forgetting, Lopez back and healthy makes them a sleeper team, still got the players to make the playoffs

Atlanta didn't really improve outside of getting Horford back and the East did overall improve a little bit. The Knicks still aren't that good, and Detroit, Milwaukee, Orlando, Boston and Philly (order from 11 down imo) are all not that good.

"It's just unfortunate that we've been penalized so much this year and nothing has happened to the Pistons, the Palace or the city of Detroit," he said. "It's almost like it's always our fault. The league knows it. They should be ashamed of themselves to let the security be as lax as it is around here."

Re: Rank the East

How is Miami without LeBron better than Indy? I don't get that at all...

I think they have a better coach, the players, even without LeBron, have better chemistry than ours. Luol Deng is a really good replacement on both ends. I think Chalmers and Cole got a bad wrap from the playoffs and are still solid options at point guard. Josh McRoberts has ended up as a really good power forward, and they still have the MLE and biannual exception available. I think they will have a rough start to the season, but as they go on they'll get a primary ballhandler established and Spoelstra will have adjusted to the lack of LeBron.

Re: Rank the East

I think many of you buy too much into the hype of Cleveland and Chicago.

Cleveland - Irving and James, who is running this offense? Kyrie needs the ball, but its Lebron's team. Wiggins, he needs the ball as well. Bennett? Who the hell knows. Mike Miller is about the only known role on the team.

Chicago- Derrick Rose healthy? Can he play at the NBA speed and intensity for a whole season? Log Jam at the 4-5. Can McDermot find his stroke early and defend well enough to stay on the floor. Will Noah stay healthy enough to play with feet hurting? Remember he wears those French shoes that are probably killing his feet.

With one major note here. The None of the 8 playoff seeds will finish under .500. The East will be very close. If you look at last years teams. They all got out of the gate very slow, and every single team had great 2nd halves.

Re: Rank the East

I think they have a better coach, the players, even without LeBron, have better chemistry than ours. Luol Deng is a really good replacement on both ends. I think Chalmers and Cole got a bad wrap from the playoffs and are still solid options at point guard. Josh McRoberts has ended up as a really good power forward, and they still have the MLE and biannual exception available. I think they will have a rough start to the season, but as they go on they'll get a primary ballhandler established and Spoelstra will have adjusted to the lack of LeBron.

They used their MLE on McRoberts and their Bi-Annual Exception on Danny

Re: Rank the East

I think most of you are way over-looking the Heat, they're still gonna be really good. Pacers, Cavs, Bulls, Heat are gonna be top 4 teams in the East easily and the rest will fight for the other spots. That's just my opinion as of right now though, Kstat is right it's still early and we don't know what rosters will be come season time.

I really think there are three tiers though, The top 3 is a toss up between Indiana, Chicago, and Cleveland, could go any way depending on how the season plays out. Next tier is Miami and Washington, who are a slight step below the top three and also a toss up. Charlotte, Toronto, and Atlanta are another step down from the others and round out the bottom.

Even though I said Miami and Washington were a step below, I kinda think anything could happen with that top 5 (except Toronto, don't believe in them much) in the East in the playoffs as far as who comes out of the East. Chicago is the best team on paper but Gasol's age and Rose's knees are huge question marks, I think the others are fairly even.

If Cleveland gets Love though, they are the clear favorite.

Last edited by Infinite MAN_force; 07-17-2014 at 04:06 PM.

"As a bearded man, i was very disappointed in Love. I am gathering other bearded men to discuss the status of Kevin Love's beard. I am motioning that it must be shaved."